Thursday, November 13, 2008

Tantei Gakuen Q

I wasn't sure which drama to review next since I've seen so many, so I decided to review another detective drama. Tantei Gakuen Q is based on the anime/manga of the same name. It follows five students from the Dan Detective Academy who solve crimes and mysteries. As the group solve these murders and mysteries, they get closer and closer to an evil organization that seems to be involved.

There was a special which showed how the students joined the Dan Detective Academy, but it was made before the series and one of the actors was changed, but it's still nice to watch since the drama starts with the students already part of the academy.

The drama was good and entertaining, but I would only rate it 3 out of 5. While each episodes had some funny parts and some strange mysteries to try and solve, they also had some parts which weren't too interesting and sometimes long. I was also never too excited about seeing the next episodes. I was interested in seeing the next episodes, but now to the point of wanting to see it right away. However, the drama was still entertaining enough that I would maybe watch it again someday.

I haven't seen all of the anime or read the manga, but I have watched the first 20 or so episodes. One of the major differences I noticed between the anime and the drama is that in the drama we never see other students from the Dan Detective Academy. In the anime they go to an actual academy and sometimes solve mysteries with the help of other classes. I found that interesting in the anime and felt it was missing from the drama. They are supposed to be students in an academy, yet we never see an academy or any other students.

With all that, the drama was still not bad. The characters were well played and different enough one from another. The five students are Kyuu, Minami Megumi, Amakusa Ryuu, Toyama Kintaro and Narusawa Kazuma. Played by Kamiki Ryunosuke, Shida Mirai, Yamada Ryosuke, Kaname Jun and Wakaba Katsumi respectively. Narusawa Kazuma was played by Matsukawa Naruki in the special. Not that Matsukawa Naruki is a bad actor, but I felt that Wakaba Katsumi played the role much better and looked more like the character in the anime/manga series.

Anyway, Tantei Gakuen Q is entertaining enough to watch if you're interested in watching a detective drama that isn't too long, so if that's what you're looking for, then watch it and see if you like it!